Bag that Can be Used as a Towel

ABSTRACT

A bag that can be used as a towel is comprised of solely a foldable flat material having a carrying strap for slinging on, or carrying. A flat surface for lying, or sitting upon, can be provided by repeatedly unfolding the bag. The flat surface material can be folded up again to form the bag, as needed.

This invention relates to a bag that can be used as a towel or vice versa; a towel from which a bag can be produced.

In summer, when people take a rolled-up towel to go swimming, they just stick it under their arm. Their swimming trunks or swimwear is rolled up in the towel. Even in colder periods of the year, towels must be taken along from home to go to a sauna, health spa or indoor swimming pool, for example. Carrying a loose towel is not very practical and a whole bag is, by far, too cumbersome.

Therefore, the purpose of the invention is to recommend a solution for a bath or plain towel that can be carried like a bag and be used to sit on at public events and is, thus, easier to carry. Furthermore, a variety of things can be stored in it.

This problem is solved by a bag than can be used as a towel, consisting solely of a foldable large material that can be turned into a bag, which can also be equipped with a strap for slinging on the shoulder or carrying, by folding the material several times and, if need be, unfolding it again into a flat surface.

The drawings show a detailed example which is described as follows.

This bag consists solely of a foldable material, which has a strap for slinging on or carrying. Unfolding the bag several times produces a lying or sitting surface and, if need be, the material can be folded up into a bag, as explained below.

FIG. 1 shows a bag 1, produced by multiple folding of a foldable material 3. Here, one can see the folding of the foldable material 3 on the finished bag 1. The bag 1 forms a “U” turned upside-down in cross-section, so that one side 4 is turned down and carries on upwards in double layer 5 and bent there by 90°, forming an edge which is linked to the strap 2. The strap 2 runs along half the towel's short edge, preferably reinforced so that it is elastically pliable. It can, for example, enclose a strip of spring steel or plastic, slightly rounded in cross-section, so that the strip 1 adds a certain stability to the bag. The strap 2 can be adjusted using clasps along its length. Separate storage facilities or containers 7 can be attached to the foldable material 3 and can, for instance, be locked with a zipper, a VELCRO fastener or snap fasteners.

This bag 1 enables flat to slightly bulky objects to be stored and taken along, a book, for example, or even a football. The holders 7 can have a waterproof coating on one side, at least. The entire foldable material 3 can be made waterproof on one side, for example, by means of a coating in order to protect the objects kept in the bag from moisture. The separate storage facilities 7 can be removed and attached again with a VELCRO fastener. The dimensions of the bag 1 can be adjusted as needed, according to size, content, the added storage facilities, etc.

FIG. 2 shows the material equipped with a strap. It is unfolded and ready for lying or sitting on as a towel. The strap can be stretched out along the edge over half the width of the spread out towel 3. The towel 3, or foldable material, is turned 180°, in order to fold it up into a bag 1, so that the strap 2 lies beneath. This produces the situation shown in FIG. 2 a. As an accessory feature, this towel is equipped with two speakers, which can be tucked into small bags on the towel and whose connector jacks are accessible through the towel 3, so that a CD or MP3 player, for example, can be connected.

As shown in FIG. 4, from the initial position in accordance with FIG. 3, the towel's short side is folded in half after which the situation in accordance with FIG. 4 is reached. Following, the towel 3, as shown in FIG. 5, is folded over the long side with the rear end 9 lying on top of the front end 8. The rear two thirds are then folded forward by 180°, so that the strap as shown in FIG. 6 runs centrally across and under the now multiple folded towel 3, or material 3. Finally, the now-created front half is folded down and raised on the strap in the towel, 3 as shown in FIG. 6. This produces a bag 1, as shown in FIG. 7.

In order to store things, they can placed in the middle of the cloth before the first folding as shown in FIG. 3, and then in FIG. 4, and then simply wrapped up by further folding. By folding, and thanks to a sewn-on belt or strap attached to the edge of the cloth, a rectangular cloth thus becomes a functional carrier-bag. The cloth can be provided with a sewn-on fabric cover 7 as a separate holder. Despite this, the bag can be fully used as a towel and is not restricted in this function. The sewn-on fabric cover can be closed with a zipper. A bag 1 produced in this way offers a carrying load of approx. three kilos. As an example, this bag 1 is sufficient for carrying along swimwear and books or even a laptop.

The main advantage can be seen in the fact that separate bags are no longer needed to take along a towel and the necessary accessories. Towels often take up most of the space in the bag. If the towel is wet, it can dry as a bag instead of being rolled up and packed away wet into a sealed bag.

It shows:

FIG. 1: A bag, made by folding the material several times;

FIG. 2: Flat surface material, with a strap;

FIG. 3: The starting position of the flat material for folding it into a bag or its position in use as a towel for sifting on, lying on or to cover something;

FIG. 4: The material after initial folding down the middle;

FIG. 5: The material after a second folding around mid-width according to FIG. 2 a;

FIG. 6: The material after a third folding, as two thirds of the length from the situation in FIG. 2 c is folded over back to front by 180°, and then the front half is folded down and back;

FIG. 7: The bag made after gripping the hand strap in FIG. 2 d. 

1-7. (canceled)
 8. A towel usable as a bag, comprising: a foldable laminary material having a strap for slinging on, or carrying, so that a bag is capable of being created by multiple foldings of said foldable laminary material and is able to be, again, unfolded into a laminary shape.
 9. The towel usable as a bag according to claim 8, wherein said strap is made of a flexible material.
 10. The towel usable as a bag according to claim 9, wherein said flexible material is an elastic material.
 11. The towel usable as a bag according to claim 9, wherein said flexible material includes a flexible strip of spring steel.
 12. The towel usable as a bag according to claim 9, wherein said flexible material includes a flexible strip of plastic.
 13. The towel usable as a bag according to claim 8, wherein said foldable laminary material comprises, at least on one side, a container.
 14. The towel usable as a bag according to claim 13, wherein said container is a waterproof container.
 15. The towel usable as a bag according to claim 8, further comprising a container having means for removably attaching and detaching said container from said foldable laminary material.
 16. The towel usable as a bag according to claim 16, wherein said means for removably attaching and detaching said container includes loop-and-hook fasteners.
 17. The towel usable as a bag according to claim 16, wherein said means for removably attaching and detaching said container includes snap fasteners.
 18. The towel usable as a bag according to claim 16, wherein said means for removably attaching and detaching said container includes a zipper fastener.
 19. The towel usable as a bag according to claim 8, wherein said foldable laminary material includes a waterproof coating on at least one side thereof.
 20. The towel usable as a bag according to claim 8, wherein said foldable laminary material includes pockets on one side thereof for the reception of leisure accessories.
 21. A towel usable as a bag, consisting of: a foldable laminary material having a strap for slinging on, or carrying, so that a bag is capable of being created by multiple foldings of said foldable laminary material and is able to be, again, unfolded into a laminary shape.
 22. The towel usable as a bag according to claim 21, wherein said strap is made of a flexible material.
 23. The towel usable as a bag according to claim 22, wherein said flexible material is an elastic material.
 24. The towel usable as a bag according to claim 22, wherein said flexible material includes a flexible strip of spring steel.
 25. The towel usable as a bag according to claim 22, wherein said flexible material includes a flexible strip of plastic.
 26. The towel usable as a bag according to claim 21, wherein said foldable laminary material includes a waterproof coating on at least one side thereof.
 27. The towel usable as a bag according to claim 21, wherein said foldable laminary material includes pockets on one side thereof for the reception of leisure accessories. 